Zhyli-Byli (which you could translate as 'once upon a time') captures him, 'live.'

Note: if you click any one of the adjacent images, you will see it much-enlarged, annotated, and in whatever is its particular 'correct' format.

Central Europe's knowledge of its own musical culture would likely be significantly reduced, but for Béla Bartók . A crucial 'song-catcher', Bartók was a non-patronising 'classical' musician who valued 'demotic/folk/traditional' music in its own right.

Substitute 'Russia' and the name of tonight's featured artist...and you have some idea of Starostin's significance and attitude. He has collected nearly 3000 songs and revived several instruments.

Says Starostin, 'every type of music, be it jazz, rock, classical music or folklore should have its own space. The audience, especially young listeners, should know that there are different types of music that do not resemble what they are used to listening.'

Sergey Starostin is an uncommonly erudite interpreter of Russian traditional song, but his approach is anything but 'drearily academic.'

To quote one admirer, 'If there was a 'Nobel Prize for Russian Folklore' the first person this award should go to is Sergei Starostin.'

Outside Russia, Starostin is most famous as a member of The Moscow Art Trio.

( each of the above is good, but quite unlike the other, albeit both at his more 'folkloric' end. If you go hunting for more, expect some surprises and some very varied instrumentation! )

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Details of each track are presented in the following order:

BROADCAST TIME TRACK NUMBER AND TITLE COMPOSER PUBLISHING AND COPYRIGHT DETAILS RECORDING COMPANY AND CD NUMBER distributor/ source details, like this, in lower-case ARTIST AND CD TITLE Duration of track Description of track, in lower-case.Where relevant, further info links to information, gigs/events/related programs

2207 CD CUT 6, 'LULLABY'( PRESUMABLY ) TRAD RUSSIAN, ARR SERGEY STAROSTIN ( PRESUMABLY ) THE SONG-PROPER IS PUBLIC DOMAIN. ARR PUB NOT SPEC.JARO 4304 -2 No Australian distributor Available worldwide from www.jaro.deSERGEY STAROSTIN - 'ZHYLI-BYLI'6: 48 Haunting, almost unearthly, but lilting Russian lullaby - one sung to a small boy in the absence of the boy's mother.

Sergey is 'live', singing and plucking a gusli - a venerable zither which exists in various 'box zither' and more lyre-like forms. Sergey Klevensky plays a kaval-like, rim-blown flute/low whistle, which really generates some overtones and drama.

A jaunty song on which he also quasi-yodels. In persona of a jolly Russian soldier, leaving the young woman who is more smitten than he is. The vocal is just brilliant - even without any knowledge of Russian, you can hear the rooster-bloke's ego, his duplicity, his false assurances and his 'asides.'

I think it is Starostin, solo. I think he is mostly playing a zhaleyka ( aka 'zhaleika' and as 'byolka' and as 'tverskoy rozhok' ) and that he is looping and electronically processing what he plays. I could be wrong! It is definitely 'live.'

This performance may or may not refer to any particular traditional tune. The credits on this album are none-too-informative and none-too-reliable.

LIKE SEE/KNOW ABOUT THE ZHALEIKA?( which Starostin calls 'rojok'... for info about the trumpet kind of 'rozhok' see notes to cut @ 2349, below)

2243 CD CUT 12, '2ND OF THREE PRELUDES' ( ANDANTE CON MOTO E POCO RUBATO )GEORGE GERSHWIN, ARR JAMES COHN HARMONIA MUNDI HMU 907508 in Australia through Select Audio-Visual Distribution:http://www.savd.com.au/selectglobalworldwide: through Harmonia Mundi www.harmoniamundi.comJON MANASSE, JON NAKAMATSU - 'BERNSTEIN, GERSWHIN, NOVACEK, D'RIVERA: AMERICAN MUSIC FOR CLARINET AND PIANO'4: 04 Manasse's clarinet in duo with Nakamatsu's piano - beautifully spare performance. Mostly somber - one of a set of three Preludes from 1926. ( was actually a set of five, but only three are commonly played, now )

The song refers to traditional customs/beliefs. Its hero and his friends make colourful wreaths that are meant to float, when thrown into the river. His sinks: an ill omen. He decides it means that the woman he fancies 'will not come to me.'

2324 CD CUT 12, 'VANYA'(PRESUMABLY) TRAD RUSSIAN, ARR SERGEY STAROSTIN (PRESUMABLY) THE SONG-PROPER IS PUBLIC DOMAIN. ARR PUB NOT SPEC.JARO 4304 -2 No Australian distributor Available worldwide from www.jaro.deSERGEY STAROSTIN - 'ZHYLI-BYLI 7: 24 Very haunting. I think this is a traditional Russian song. I suspect it is of the 'night visiting' kind - i.e. one in which the ghost of the departed ( dead ) lover returns to visit the bereaved one who grieves too much, too long.

It is introduced by a pair of duduk-like reed/wind instruments, atop which Starostin then sings, beautifully. He is a really remarkable musician, not merely 'a worthy, diligent folklorist.'

SEGUE

2331 CD CUT 9, 'AAVA'JOONA TOIVANEN C.A.M. S.R.L CAMJAZZ CAMJ 3308-2 Available through Australian Northern Europe Liaisons: www.henk.com.auGenerally, this label does not have Australian distribution as such, although its releases are available worldwide from online suppliers.worldwide: www.camjazz.comJOONA TOIVANEN TRIO - 'AT MY SIDE'2: 04 Spacious solo piano, played by the young Finnish composer.

Starostin sings, as he plucks/strums his gusli ( see notes to first Starostin number in tonight's show - @ 2207, above). Sergevy Klevensky swirls on an end-blown 'overtone' flute/ low whistle.

2343 CD CUT 2, 'MISTAKES'TAPANI TOIVANEN C.A.M. S.R.L CAMJAZZ CAMJ 3308-2 Available through Australian Northern Europe Liaisons: www.henk.com.auGenerally, this label does not have Australian distribution as such, although its releases are available worldwide from online suppliers.worldwide: www.camjazz.comJOONA TOIVANEN TRIO - 'AT MY SIDE'6: 04 A young Finnish trio, with an unusual shade of cheerfully-mesmeric modern jazz. The piano is partly 'prepared', I think.

The composer plays double bass. His brother is pianist and leader. The remarkable drummer is Olavi Louhivuori; he is also that 'amazing young Finnish drummer' in Tomasz Stanko's current band.

SEGUE

2349 CD CUT 10, 'THERE WAS A SUN'(PRESUMABLY) TRAD RUSSIAN, ARR SERGEY STAROSTIN (PRESUMABLY) THE SONG-PROPER IS PUBLIC DOMAIN. ARR PUB NOT SPEC.JARO 4304 -2 No Australian distributor Available worldwide from www.jaro.deSERGEY STAROSTIN - 'ZHYLI-BYLI 6: 31 Strange but compelling, avant-cum-ancient, Russian. I think the song is old. Its treatment is certainly novel!

Eventually, it is sung by two female voices - those of Taisia Krasnopevtseva and Olga Krasnopevtseva. Taisa also plays an amplified hurdy-gurdy ( 'wheel fiddle' ), whilst Sergey Klevensky plays huluse, which is a double-reed, I think.

Presumably, the electronics and water sounds are created by Starostin, who also - I think - here occasionally plays his rojok ( a Russian folk trumpet which he has revived ). The rojok is carved from a single piece of wood, usually apple.

Starostin, I think, mostly plays an altogether different single-reed instrument that is more 'folk oboe' or 'shepherd's pipe' than 'folk trumpet'. What he calls a 'rojok/rozhok' is the 'tverskoy rozhok', which is better kown as 'zhaleyka' or 'zhaleika.'

Shelley Steel :

This is from wikipedia for the rozhok:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimirskiy_rozhok

Also there is a link to a * A video documentary about Vladimirskiy Rozhok (Russian) - from a series "Странствия музыканта" by Sergey Nikolaevich Starostin

http://www.vimeo.com/1069924

Moderator: Thank you to Michael and Shelley.

Please see amended notes. 'Live' rozhok links now exist. There's more than one kind of 'rozhok'/ 'rojok'; the bottom one in Wiki's 'trumpet' rozhok picture is indeed a 'ring-in'. The 'Vladimirskiy' in the Wiki URL successfully fooled Doug.. who misbelieved that it must have concerned a Mr Rozhok rather than an instrument, albeit - it seems - NOT the kind of 'rojok' which Starostin plays! All should be come clear/ish if you see the notes and follow the links beneath the entries for items @ 2238 and 2349.